The present invention relates to ballistic helmets in general and, more particularly, to a bonded, laminated, ballistic helmet and method for making same.
Various types of ballistic helmets have been used by military forces and law enforcement agencies in recent years. The ubiquitous metal helmet of WWII has been supplement and, to some degree, replaced by plastic helmets. Unfortunately, plastic helmets having sufficient ballistic integrity are relatively heavy. Recently, it has been proposed to use aramid fibers; such as, E. I. DuPont deNemours & Co., Inc.'s aramid fiber sold under the trademark KEVLAR. Woven KEVLAR was pattern cut and molded into a helmet. This process was not only time consuming, but also expensive because of the wasted scrap material.
It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to provide a more economic ballistic helmet and method for making same.
It is a specific object of the invention to provide a laminated, ballistic helmet that is formed from continuous filaments of aramid and/or fiber glass fibers arranged in bundles, yarns and/or ends.
It is another object of the invention to provide a laminated ballistic helmet that is relatively lightweight with sufficient ballistic integrity.
It is a feature of the invention tht the method thereof can be practical using readily available materials and components.
It is another feature of the invention that the process of the invention fully utilizes the helmet material without any significant waste.
It is still another feature of the invention that the method thereof fulfills the need for different-sized helmets.